Island



Patented Dem-19 TNVENTUE? WH'NEFFEE' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK GRINNELL, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

AUTOMATIC FIRE-EXTINGUISHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 269,204, dated December 19, 1882.

Application filed February 20, 1882.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FREDERICK GRINNELL, of the city and county of Providence, and State ofRhode Island, haveiuven ted a new and useful Improvement in Automatic Fire-Extinguishers;' and I hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming part of this specification.

This invention has reference to an improvement in automatic fire-extinguishers in which the joint or outlet is closed by the internal pressure of the water exerted against a flexible diaphragm in which the outlet is placed.

The object of thisinvention is to secure more motion and flexibility to the diaphragm than is possible with the former construction, and thereby enablethe internal pressure to rupture the soldered joint, when the same has become weakened by heat, more effectually.

The invention consists in the peculiar construction of a case acted upon by the internal pressure, as will be more fully set forth hereinafter.

Figure 1 is aview of my improved automatic fire-extinguisher. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is a View, partly in section, of a modification, showing the diaphragm held in place by means of two levers secured together by a strap held by solder.

In the drawings, A is the nipple by which the device is secured to the water-supply pipes.

B is the case, the part b of which is secured to or forms part of the water-inlet, and the part bof which is free to move away from the fixed part, and is providedwith the outlet.

0 is the deflector, against which the outlet is forced by the internal pressure of the water on the walls of the case B. The deflector is held and. guided by the stem (1, so that a limited amount of motion is allowed to it when the deflector is released, and that it will be held above the outlet and disperse the outrushing water. In Figs. 1 and 2 the stem d is secured, by a solder fusible at a low temperature, to the yoke D, and in Fig. 3 the deflectoris secured to the stem d, which is guided in a bridge in the inlet, the lower end of the stem 01 being provided with a knob or shoulder, so that when released the deflector can rise above the outlet and be held in this position to disperse the outrushing water.

(No model.)

In Fig. 3, E E are two levers, hinged to the body of theulevice at e a, the upper ends being drawn together, so as to rest on the diaphragm G, and are secured together by the strip of metal j", made either in the form of a loop, the ends of which are secured together by asolder fusible at a low temperature, or the strip may be secured to one or both of the ends of the levers E E.

The actions of the devices shown in Figs. 1 and 2 are as follows: The stem d of the diaphragm 0 being secured by fusible solder, as shown, and the device secured to a system of pipes in which water is held under pressure, the pressure acts on, the internal Walls of the case B, which is made of two flexible disks se' cured together at the periphery. This internal pressure tends to expand the case B, and as the diaphragm is flxed forces the outlet against the under face of the same, making a tight joint. As soon as the soldered joint is weakened by heat sufficiently to yield to the interrial pressure this force ruptures the soldered joint and forces the deflector upward against the yoke D, and the outrushing water is dispersed by the deflector.

In the device shown in Fig.3, as soon as the solder holding the upper ends of the levers E E together is melted the pressure of the'water on the case B forces the two parts of the case apart and the diaphragm against the levers E E, so that they swing over and hang down on the sides, when the deflector 0, being held in place by the projection on the stem (1, resting against the bridge, disperses the water or other fluid in every direction. By the use of levers, as shown in Fig. 3, a weak solder, very sensitive to heat, may be used, and thus an automatic fire-extinguisher produced that will very quickly put water on the lire when it is first originated and before any damage can be caused by the same. By the use of the expansible case B the pressure of the water will at once break the soldered joint when by aslight rise in the temperature the same has been weakened, and will thus insure a prompt release of the deflector before any water is discharged, thus preventing the possibility of a partial opening of the extinguisher and a partial discharge of the water, which is liable to take place in automatic fire-extinguishers as heretofore constructed, in which, by the melt ing of the fusible solder, a leak takes place and the discharged water prevents the melting of the rest of the solder and the full opening of the distributer.

I am aware that automatic fire-extinguishers have before my present invention been constructed in which a flexible diaphragm at one end of the case was constructed to yield to the internal pressure, as is shown and described in Patent No. 248,828, granted to me October 25, 1881. Such a construction does not form part of my present invention, as in this construction the case proper is not affected by the internal pressure.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent-- 1. In an automatic fire-extinguisher, the case 13, having at one side an inlet and at the other side an outlet, the position of which with relation to the inlet is adapted to be changed by an increase or decrease of pressure within the case. i

2. The combinatiornwith adeflectorarranged to be firmly held until released by the action of heat, of an expansiblc case, B b I), provided at one side with an inlet and at the other side with an outlet, which is held against the deflector by the expansion of the case, substantially as described.

3. The combination, in an automatic fire-extinguisher, with a deflector held in place by fusible solder, of the case B, consisting of the part I), provided with an inlet, and the part I), provided with an outlet, the two parts being forced apart by the internal pressure, as described.

FREDERIOK GRINNELL. Witnesses:

J. A. MILLER, Jr., M. E. EMERsoN. 

